ICV is Victorious!
Cruise Vessel Security & Safety Act 2009 Passes
By Mike Groves
The news is something we have all been waiting for, it is fantastic, now ensuring the safety of cruise ship passengers on the high seas and making the cruise industry more accountable at long last.
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 requires cruise lines to report all crimes aboard cruise ships and they will also be required to take other appropriate steps to further protect the victims of crimes on cruise ships. Yes, that is right if you were not already aware, before ICV campaigned for this, the cruise industry was not answerable to you, local or international law enforcement. Unlike the airlines, the cruise industry has been able to do as they pleased.
This act, and its approval truly represents an historic step towards securing all passengers the safety and security they need and deserve.
ICV has members and friends in more than 20 countries, representing victims, their families and friends deeply concerned about the on-going incidences of victimization and disappearances on passenger vessels. The utter disregard towards victims and families of loved ones has gone on long enough and finally the cruise industry is being made to toe the line. You may be interested to know that CLIA, (Cruise Lines International Association) committed millions of dollars to try to prevent this important legislation from coming into being. Not content with that, they even went so far as to submit misleading statistical crime data for their vessels to the Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Senator Joe Similtian stating this had been provided by the FBI. This in fact was not true and perfectly highlights where CLIA really sits when it comes to passenger’s welfare.
ICV has been advocating for these measures to be adopted since 2006, participating in countless meetings with Members of Congress, and three Congressional hearings. The hearings were held at the urging of Rep. Matsui (D-Calif.), with the support of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced corresponding legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Together with the monumental efforts of Sen. John Kerry in the Senate and Congresswoman Matsui's campaigning in the House, the Senate has passed this major legislation. "
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 2009 is the brainchild of Ken Carver who has been greatly supported in his endeavors by Senator John Kerry and Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui. Ken is also a victim of the cruise industry. His daughter Merrian boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2004 for a one week cruise, a vessel she would never disembark from. The pain for Ken, his wife and family remains unimaginable while they still seek answers to their beloved daughter’s disappearance and Ken soon realized that his loss was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to cruise related deaths, [murders/accidents] sexual assaults and missing passengers and crew.
As devastated as Ken was he soon began to realize he was not alone in his anguish; there were many more families and loved ones suffering losses in one form or another. In 2005 Ken set in motion a movement to both help and support victims of this monolithic and unregulated empire, the cruise industry. This soon became known and universally recognized as the International Cruise Victims organization we know today – www.internationalcruisevictims.com
As previously highlighted, the new Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 2009 has been resisted and fought by the cruise industry since its very inception, a massive industry that clearly cares little for it's passengers or crew and in addition pays no taxes on the vast millions in revenue that they accrue each year, while continuing to hide under the veil of flags of convenience. However Ken Carver was soon to become the cruise industries Nemesis!
Currently statistics show a passenger is lost at sea on average every two weeks. This is in addition to the other incidents duly noted above.
Since drawing up his battle lines towards the cruise industry, Ken Carver remained steadfast and unsympathetic to the industries cries of immunity, as has Senator Kerry and Congresswoman Matsui, both throwing their full weight behind the Bill. Ken Carver and his fellow members are modern day heroes!
From its concept the ICV’s primary role has been to support victims and raise questions regarding the basic fundamental rights for people to travel in safety. In essence, they have provided many with so much. With experienced security specialists sitting on it's board as well as others who have lost loved ones, the movement continues to grow.
In addition to the murders, sexual assaults and missing passengers and crew, it is now known through intelligence agencies that pedophiles are traveling via cruise ships to have sex with children. The problem has escalated not only due to increased cruise ship access and more ships on the seas, but also in the past eight years the use of laptops and their passage onto cruise ship has also risen dramatically. Since 9/11, there is a perception that anything and everything a passenger takes with them to board an airliner will be thoroughly inspected. This has pushed child pornography collectors and child molesters onto cruise ships where the industry’s attitude towards security is generally poor.
The Internet has given pedophiles access to the locations of more hot spots ripe for pedophiles through meeting others engaged in these crimes against children. The expansion of cruise lines into more international ports has also made it faster and easier for pedophiles to board a ship after land travel, thus avoiding the airlines. (Jan Huggard)
However no matter this bill will see simple things such as peepholes fixed on all cabin doors and a further requirement for the industry to report all incidents to the FBI or other law enforcement authorities immediately, it still offers no protection to those outside of United States. Citizens in my country and throughout Europe remain unprotected should they board a cruise ship outside the United States, indeed no protection will be afforded to U.S. citizens flying to join UK or American owned cruise ships, as I can assure you many do.
Our figures for 2009 showed more than 25 cases of passengers mysteriously going over board (which is more than two every month) and many of these cases have never been solved? This does not include incidents relating to missing crewmembers; the most recent is that of Italian Chef Angelo Faliva who disappeared mysteriously in November 2009. Both I and the ICV continue to offer support and guidance to Angelo’s family as they continue to campaign for the truth surrounding his disappearance. Angelo’s ‘employers’ quite shamefully continue to ignore the family in the main.
But missing passengers are not the major incidences that occur onboard these monolithic floating cities. Currently there is at least one sexual assault on a cruise passenger somewhere in the world every month. More recently I was made aware of two alleged rapes concerning a 15-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy. Both victims were EU nationals as I understand and both families were afforded no support whatsoever by the cruise lines concerned.
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International Cruise Victims Association (ICV) is Victorious!
Senate confirms passage of Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
June 13, 2010
